1. Field
One or more embodiments of the present invention relate to a method and apparatus for displaying additional information related to a measured value of an object, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for displaying an average value or an abnormal value contained in additional information related to a measured value of an object, together with the measured value.
2. Description of the Related Art
Examples of medical diagnostic equipment may include an ultrasound diagnosis device, an X-ray photographing apparatus, a computerized tomography (CT) apparatus, and a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) device.
Among these, an ultrasound diagnosis device transmits ultrasound signals from a body surface of a target object toward a predetermined portion inside a body and uses information of ultrasound signals reflected from tissues in the body to obtain tomographic images of soft tissues or blood flow.
Such an ultrasound diagnosis device may display information regarding a target object in real-time. Furthermore, an ultrasound diagnosis device causes no radioactive exposure like X-rays, thus being highly safe. Therefore, ultrasound diagnosis devices have been widely used together with other types of imaging diagnosis devices, including X-ray diagnosis devices, CT scanners, MRI devices, nuclear medical diagnosis devices, etc.
One type of a radiographic imaging apparatus for medical diagnostics may be an X-ray photographing apparatus.
In general, X-rays are electromagnetic waves having a wavelength of 0.01 to 100 angstroms (Å) and can penetrate into an object. Thus, they may be commonly used in a wide range of applications such as medial devices that take images of the inside of a living body and non-destructive testing equipment for industrial use.
An X-ray photographing apparatus uses X-rays emitted by an X-ray tube (or X-ray source) to penetrate into an object, detects a difference in intensity of the X-rays from an X-ray detector, and identifies the internal structure of the object. Furthermore, the X-ray photographing apparatus is able to easily identify the internal structure of the object by using the principle that the amount of X-rays that penetrate the object varies depending on the density of the object and atomic number of an atom in the object. As the wavelength of an X-ray becomes shorter, permeability of X-rays increases, and a screen becomes brighter.
An X-ray photographing apparatus generally includes an X-ray source, an X-ray detector, and an image processor. The X-ray source irradiates an X-ray under predetermined X-ray irradiation conditions, and the X-ray detector acquires image data based on an X-ray that penetrates the object and transmits the image data to the image processor. The image processor then processes the image data to provide an image of the object to a display unit.
Another type of a radiographic imaging apparatus for medical diagnostics may be a CT system. Since the CT system is capable of providing a cross-sectional image of an object, the CT system may represent an inner structure (e.g., an organ such as a kidney, a lung, etc.) of the object without an overlap therebetween, compared to a general X-ray imaging apparatus.
The CT system may obtain a plurality of pieces of image data with a thickness of not more than 2 mm for several tens to several hundreds of times per second and then may process the plurality of pieces of image data, thereby providing a relatively accurate cross-sectional image of the object. In other words, the internal structure of the object may be generated as a two- or three-dimensional (2D or 3D) image by a plurality of 2D X-ray image data obtained around a single rotation axis.
Furthermore, MRI equipment may be used for medical diagnosis.
MRI is a technology that acquires an image of an object by measuring a difference between signals that are emitted from a tissue in an object by applying a radio frequency (RF) pulse that causes protons in the object to resonate and reconstructing the difference through a computer, wherein the object is placed inside a large magnet for producing a magnet field. An MRI system exhibits high resolution and high contrast over another imaging technique using ultrasound and is capable of providing images of deep organs and 3D information in real-time. The MRI system also involves no exposure to radiation and thus is harmless to a human body. Furthermore, the MRI system may create images in the axial plane, in the sagittal plane, and in the coronal plane without any change in a position of an object.